Professor Klaus Palme holds the chair of the Department of Molecular Plant Physiology at ALU Freiburg. He is acting director at the Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg and member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Systems Biology (ZBSA), principal investigator at the Centre of Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS) and the Freiburg Initiative for Systems Biology (FRISYS). Since 2008, Klaus Palme is affiliated as professor with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Bejing.

Klaus Palme has studied Biology and Chemistry at the Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen. He received his Ph.D. 1981 from the University of Ulm. During his postdoctoral research he was visiting scientist at the “The Salk Institute of Biological Studies” in San Diego (USA) and the Institute of Genetics at the University of Cologne. He joined the Department of “Genetic Principles of Plant Breeding” at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding in Cologne and was appointed as a professor at the Max-Delbrück-Laboratory (Cologne), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Umea) and the University of Freiburg. His most significant scientific contributions are the molecular characterization of the first receptors for the plant hormone auxin and the elucidation of the basic principles of auxin transport. In Freiburg, his team focuses on the development of innovative technologies for mapping protein-protein interactions and develops with various partners from academia and private enterprises techniques and instrumentation for imaging and high-throughput cellome studies. Recent work in his laboratory focuses on systems biology approaches to plant hormone signaling, molecular networks and the mechanisms of action of various substances affecting plant growth and development. Klaus Palme is a member of the Academia Europaea and the European Molecular Biology Organization. His research has been recognized with the receipt of several awards including the Max-Planck-Research Award for International Cooperation.

The scientific focus of Klaus Palme is directed towards uncovering the details of complex biological signalling processes using novel tools for mapping the precise reaction mechanisms in a four-dimensional (space and time) environment. Plant single cell systems have been developed to deliver accurate quantitative insights at high-throughput into the three-dimensional molecular networks that direct reprogramming of plant cells. In addition, roots of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, are used to explore the interaction between environmental signals and endogenous (i.e. internally produced) development programmes in the de novo, postembryonic formation of plant organs. In collaboration with the partners from the FRIAS and the Centre of Systems Biology systems analysis of signalling processes, gene regulatory networks and differentiation is performed.